1. Field of Invention
A device worn upon a carpet installer's lower leg, provides an impact hammer for installation tools, including carpet stretching devices, the device protecting the knee of the installer during use and also optimizing the amount of horizontal impact which can be delivered to the installation tools. The device may be adjusted to fit the lower leg of a variety of installers and the device also provides an adjustable weight suited to the comfort and needs of the particular carpet installer. The device, having a smooth lower surface, is also provided to assist in the seaming process of carpet installation, providing a smooth, flat vertical force required for proper flooring seam adherence.
2. Description of Prior Art
The following United States patents were discovered and are disclosed within this application for utility patent. All relate to devices worn on the lower leg of a laborer.
A first group of prior art patent address concrete laborers and knee float devices worn on the leg of the concrete laborer to allow the laborer to trowel concrete with a hand trowel while in a kneeling position, with the knee float devices worn to prevent disruption of the finished concrete surface from the knees and toes of the user. A first patent within the concrete float device category is U.S. Pat. No. 2,627,301 to Emmett, which discloses a lower flat float, a knee pad which provides knee protection in a vertical plane, a padded shin support with a strap to connect the device to the knee and calf of the carpet finisher, and an elevated toe holder. A second patent within this category is U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,784 to Hammond, which also discloses knee support apparatus having a lower flat float, a front knee stop, a quantity of cushion material along the entire upper surface of the lower flat float in contact with the leg of the concrete finisher, and an adjustable soft roller between two upright supports provided for the concrete finisher's foot to rest against while using the float, the apparatus sliding forward and backward by the user's leg without leaving an impression in the finished concrete surface. Other prior art patents in this category include U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,404 to Iskra, D255281 to Breitenstine, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,470 to Fernandez. None of these categorically related devices provide a forward impact area for use as a horizontally deployed hammer attached to a leg of a laborer for the delivery of a horizontal impact to a knee actuated carpet installation device, nor do they define a device which protects the front portion of the knee from a horizontal forces, nor do they define the same or similar elements as the present knee hammer.
A second category of device actually do relate to the installation of carpet or flooring. In a first U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,198 to Brock, a seam skate for carpets is disclosed, providing a knee board for being pushed along a carpet seam of a carpet behind a hot melt seaming iron, the lower surface of the board being flat with beveled edges to slide along a carpet surface, and an upper surface providing an upstanding padded block to support the foreleg and an upward extending cup fitted with a thick pad extending down the inner surface of the cup and across a portion of the upper surface to protect and support the knee, as indicated in FIG. 2 of that patent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,055 to McElroy provides a knee pad which is strapped onto the knee for vertical support of the knee while kneeling. It also discloses an air cushion as the cushioning material. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,774 to Legenstein, a rolling knee pad is disclosed, strapped on and worn by a laborer when installing rolled flooring materials and U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,494 to Ferguson discloses a lower leg support, strapped to an entire foreleg, having wheels. None of these disclosed patents are intended for, nor supplied with components for use as a horizontal knee hammer for knee actuated impact tools for carpet installation.
A third category discloses a single U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,691 to Wiegers, which is a knee pad, strapped onto the knee of a laborer, with an adjustable strap also attaching the knee pad to a belt, the knee pad having a frontal contact surface which engages the kicking pad of a carpet stretcher during the installation of carpets. This device actually provides and discloses a use similar to the carpet installer's knee hammer of the present invention, except for the obvious lack of other significant elements disclosed in the present knee hammer to distribute the horizontal impact forces incurred by the device over repeated uses as a hammer over the entire leg. Wiegers does not disclose the flat contact surface with the carpet, does not provide for a contoured foreleg and foot support features and does not provide an inner cavity within the device containing additional weight to enhance the mass force of the knee hammer.